Elton John says parents gave him a 's--- name,' but were 'spot on' since it means 'Queen'

Becoming Elton John was a two-fold process for the Grammy-winning music legend: First a name change, and then a persona overhaul.

During his Tuesday visit to  The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, John discussed the transformation that secured his rise to fame, reiterating how crucial it was for him to escape the birth name he was given by his parents.

"You weren't always Elton John," host Stephen Colbert pointed out early in their conversation. "You were born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, which is also a lovely name."

John was quick to disagree, replying. "It's a s--- name."

"Agree to disagree," Colbert said, but John wasn't quite done lamenting his old moniker.

"Who the hell calls their— a little baby," he complained, miming as though cradling an infant. "A little baby? 'Reginald, oh Reginald.'"

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He then delved into the origins of his OG name, explaining, "I was named after my mum's brother because she wanted to call me Raymond, but my father disagreed so they had a huge argument — which wasn't unusual — and I became Reginald and I hated it."

He argued that while there have been plenty of famous "Reggies" to emerge from America, it was a far less popular name in England. "It wasn't Reggie, it was Reginald," the 77-year-old singer added. "Like, who the hell? As soon as I could change it, I did."

There is one bright side to the name, as Colbert then pointed out.

"Reginald's the male version of Regina, which means 'Queen,'" noted the late-night host.

"Thank you," John deadpanned, earning laughter from the studio audience. "They got it spot on. In 1947, they knew what they were doing."

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The "Rocketman" singer-songwriter went on to explain the origins of his chosen name: Elton Hercules John. He got the idea from two members of Bluesology, the British blues band that he performed with in the '60s.

"The saxophone player was called Elton Dean," he explained. "And I thought, 'Elton! There's not many Eltons in the world, that's pretty unusual."

As for John, he took that from the band's vocalist Long John Baldry, and made his middle name Hercules, after the horse from the popular British sitcom, Steptoe and Son.

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This is where the second part of his transformation came into play. The musician confirmed that, ultimately, changing his name did start to alter him as a person.

"The sad thing about it was, by 1975, when I was Elton Hercules John, Reg had been lost, and I craved to find that little boy that I used to be," he shared. "I had become 'Elton John: Superstar' and I paid the price for being so famous and not having that foundation."

He continued, "Fame is a very weird thing. I enjoyed every single minute of it until I realized that the only thing in my life was fame. I didn't like it and I got very unhappy, my moods shifted, I started doing drugs, and I just thought, 'Where am I? Who am I? What have I become?' And all that changed in 1990 when I did get sober, when I refound my old self, and it was lovely to find that little boy again."

Watch Elton John talk through his name change in the interview above.

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